Staff / Erin Gray -- Northview wide receiver Issac Hart takes off upfield after making a catch against Pope earlier this season. The Titans will take on Pope again this Friday in a Region Play-in game. The winner will advance to the Class-AAAAA state playoffs next week.

With nine games in the books, the majority of football programs across the state either punched their ticket to the state playoffs weeks ago or are eyeing the 2013 campaign as their time to shine.

But Chattahoochee, Centennial, Northview and Mount Pisgah Christian enter game 10 in a much more precarious situation, needing a victory in the final week to sneak into high school football’s post-season.

Chattahoochee (6-3 overall) and Centennial (3-6) will have their fates decided against each other in a televised Thursday Night special.

The Cougars, who hold a 4-2 record in 6AAAAAA, currently hold the fourth position in the region standings but Centennial (3-3 in region) is hot on their heels. A win for the Knights would pull them even with Chattahoochee and the head-to-head tie-breaker would award the final playoff spot in Region 6 to Centennial.

A win for Centennial would also repeat the end of their 2011 season. After a slow start a year ago, the Knights won four of five down the stretch — including a furious comeback in their season finale against Northview — to garner a playoff spot.

A win for Chattahoochee would send the Cougars to state for the third straight season and fifth time in seven years under head coach Terry Crowder.

Northview’s (3-6) post season hopes revolve around a payback game in the 7AAAAA playoffs — needing to beat a team Pope (6-3) squad that topped them 45-27 earlier in the season.

The Titans actually led the Greyhounds 14-10 at halftime in the Sept. 21 battle, but turnovers and a porous defense led to a second half route at Titan Stadium.

Luckily for Northview though, the Titans have found their stride since that loss to Pope — especially on offense.

Led by the play of running back Terrence Upshaw and sophomore quarterback DJ Pearson, who took over after the loss to Pope, the Titans have won three of their last five games and scored at least 40 points in all five region contests — averaging 49.6 points in those games.

A win would send Northview to state for the first time in their 11-year history.

While nothing is guaranteed in Mount Pisgah’s (6-3) season finale, the Patriots find themselves ranked No. 15 in the Class-A Private School power rankings and will take on Darlington (6-3) — the No. 7 team in the same rankings — this Friday in a Region 6A crossover game.

The top 16 teams in the Class-A rankings will qualify for the private school state playoffs and a win over Darlington would all but lock up the Patriots spot in the playoff bracket. A loss would leave Pisgah hoping to hang on to their spot in the top 16 with schools like Whitefield Academy and Our Lady of Mercy charging hard behind them.

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